Autographic register



Sept. 18; 1928.

W. B. RICE AUTOGRAPHIG REGISTER INVENTOR Filed Feb. 14, 1925 ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 18, 1928 UNITED STATES 1,684,553 PATENT OFFICE.

' wrLLis B. men, or New, YORK, n. Y., ASSIGNOR T0 AMERICAN SALES BOOK COMPANY,

'LIMITED, OF TORONTO, CANADA, A GORP-ORATION 0F ONTARIO, CANADA.

AUTOGRAPEIC REGISTER.

Application filed February This invention relates to a method'and apparatus for feeding paper and wlth regard to its more specific features to the feed ng of a plurality of strips simultaneously in autographic registers. I

An object of this invention isto provide a method and apparatus for automat cally feeding a plurality of strips from a single package in a new and improved manner.

A further object is to provide a method and apparatus for feeding a plurality of strips interwound into a single roll by whlch the rate of feed of the various strips may be adjusted relative to each other.

A further object is to provide an autographic register adapted for use with a plurality of strips in which the strips may be furnished in the form of a roll of interwound strips, the mechanism being such that the various strips are wound from the roll and fed to the machine at the same rate.

Other objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the several steps and the relation and order of one or more of such steps with respect to each of the others, and the apparatus embodying features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangement. of parts which are adapted to effect such steps, all as exemplified in the following detailed disclosure, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding ofthe nature and objects of the invention,'reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a cross-section of a machine embodying this invention;'

Fig. 2 is a modification adapted for a web containing four or more strips;

Fig. 3 is a modified form of the supply mechanism whereby the feed rolls may be removed from the machine to facilitate feeding;

Fig. 4- is a fragmentary plan View of one of the strips,.showing the relation of the printed forms thereon, the control apertures and the weakened line between the forms; and

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic View showing the feeding of the strips ofdifferent thickness. 1

Where a roll composed of a plurality of strips which have been super )osed and 1nter-. wound is wound or unwoun with the strips adjacent to each other, there Is a constant use with 14, 1925. Serial No. 9,156.

tendency of the outer strip to gain relative to the lower strips due to the larger diameter upon which it rolls. Whenever, therefore,- it is desired to feed such strips from such a roll in unison, difficulty may be encountered due to the accumulation of slack in the outer strips- The reason for this will be clear when it is seen that each'of the outer strips feeds from a radius greater than the next adjacent inner strips by the thickness of the strip and thus gains upon the adjacent inner strip an amount equal to two i times the thickness of the strip. When t is amount is multiplied by the number of revolutions which this supply roll makes, the slack quickly becomes a problem for consideration.

In accordance with this invention, the feed of'the different strips is adjusted or equalized by ad usting or equalizing the radius'upon which the different strips are fed.

In general we may consider that each strip lies upon the roll as a spiral continuously increasing in diameter from beginning to end, theseveral strips constituting separate spirals which are intercoilcd with each other. It will thus be clear that for every point on any spiral, there is a point of equal radius on each of the other spirals.

Using as a starting point, the place at which the inner strip is caused to leave the roll, the over-running of the next superior strip ma be eliminated by unwinding it from the ro l a portion of a revolution and thus carrying 1t back upon its own spiral to the point where the radlus of its spiral is equal. to the radius of the spiral of the inner strip at the point where the inner strip was taken off the roll. From this point, the next superior strip may now in its turn be unwound still further, causing it to move. back upon its own spiral to the point where its radius is equal to the radius at which the first strip was taken off.

If all the strips be of the same thickness, the points at which the different strips will leave the roll will be spaced from each other by an angle equal to a circumference divided by the number of strips. trated in Figure 1, where three strips are employed of equal thickness, the strips will be tangent to the roll at points 120 apart.

a As illustrated in Figure 1, the machine comprises a casing 1, having a supply compartment 2, a-tablet 3, feeding mechanism .t'and a record compartment 5. In the supply compartment 2is journaled, in any convenient Thus, as in the form lllusperiphery of the roll are three guide rolls, 11,

. 12 and 13 which are so positioned relative to the roll that as the respective strips are fed over them, they will leave the roll at points of substantially equal radius. The machine illustrated is intended for use with three strips of equal thickness. The three guide rolls referred to are therefore spaced substanially 120 apart but in a position to guide the stri s off of the roll 120 apart.

I each strip passed around its guide roller in the same direction, the rollers themselves could be disposed 120 apart, but in the form illustrated in Figure 1, it was more convenient to pass the strips around the rollers 11 and 12 in a clockwise direction and the roller 13 counterclockwise. To cause, therefore, the strip 8 to leave the roll at the proper angular interval, the axis of the roller 13 will be dislaced counterclockwise relative to the axis of the roll 7 by an amount substantially dependent upon its own diameter.

The uniform feeding of the strips from the roll is secured by the proper positioning of the guide rolls 11, 12 and 13. In order, however, to bring the strips into superposed relation upon the tablet, guides 14 and 15 are provided in position to receive the webs 8 and 10 re spectively and deliver the same above and below the web 9 on to the tablet. 14 is preferabl situated slightly above the roller 12 and t e roller 15 slightly below it, sothat the strip 8 fed from the roller 14 will pass freely over the roller 12 and so that both of the strips 8 and 9 will pass freely over the roller 15.

The casing 2 is enclosed at the top by a margin frame 16 having an opening 17 to expose the strips above the tablet 3. This margin frame may be pivoted to one side of the easing.

For the purpose of facilitating the insertion of the roll 7 in'the casing, the end wall 18 ofthe casing may be pivoted as at 19 to permit it to be opened outwardly; while its upper end is retained in place by engagement with a lug 20 upon the margin frame. The

rolls 12, 1'4 and 15 may have one end pivoted.

at one side of the casing so as to be opened upwardly while the other end engages in slots 21, 22 and 23 respectively, in the otherside of the casing.

For the purpose of insuring uniform ten-' sion upon the strips as they are fed to the platen, spring fingers 24 may be. attached to the underside of the tablet 3 at each lateral edge thereof in position to extend through slots 25 in the tablet to engage the under-face .of the margins of the strips as shown.

The feeding mechanism 4 comprises a shaft wit The roller 26 journaled in the side walls of the casing and rotatable by a handle 27. This shaft carries a pair of narrow discs 28 having a periphery slightly greater than the length, of'one of the forms upon the strips. A roll 29 is journaled in a cross-bar 30 in position resiliently to bear against the discs 28, so that the strips will be firmly gripped between the discs and the roll. The disc and the roll are preferably geared together so as to have identical peripheral speeds.

It will be understood that carbon sheets may be inserted between the strips in any convenient manner, as for example, they may extend from one side of the machine to the other, between the strips.

For many purposes for which this inven-, tion is designed, the strips used with the machine have forms printed thereon as shown at 31 in Fig. 4 and are provided with control apertures 32 in definite relation to the printed forms. These control apertures are spaced laterally-of the strip corresponding to the positioning of .the discs 28, so that as the stri s are fed, the dises will be in alignmentii the apertures for the purpose of controlling the feed and the alignment. The several fo'rms are preferably separated from each other by'weakened lines 132. i

- 7 With this construction, it will be clear that as the handle 27 is rotated, the strips will be gripped between the roll and the discs and carried forward until the control a ertures come opposite the point of contact tween the roll and the discs, whereupon the feeding will cease. For the purpose of starting the feeding mechanism after the strips have come to rest, a lug 33 is provided the discs to engage the strips at the side of-the apertures and a stop 34 is arranged to bring the handle to rest ust after the lug 33 has come into engagement with the strips, which point constitutes the end of the feeding movement.

A shaft 35 also journaled in the side walls of the casing carries a folding arm 36 in posi- '38-adapted to come 'into engagement to depress the arm.

The cam 38 is journaled in the side of the casing as shown at 39 and geared to the shaft 26 in a two to one ratio by gears 40 and 41,

so that the cam rotates once for each two revolutions of the shaft 26. This cam is so timed relative to the feeding movement that the arm 36 is depressed to engage the strip at each alternate juncture between record forms so that certain of the junctures are fed forward to the far end of the record compartment by the normal stiffness of the strip a but that the alternate. junctur'es are definitely folded by the arm '36 backwardly toward the rear end of the compartment. Thus the strip is folded in zigzag formation.

Figure 2 illustrates the invention as applied to the feeding of four strips of similar thickness. In this case it will be seen that the strips 42, 43,44 and 45 are taken from the roll tangentially at right angles to each other by take-off rollers 46, 47, 48 and 49.- For the purpose of conveniently guiding the strips into parallel relation over the tablet, the rollers 46 and 49 may be placed in substantially horizontal alignment, the roller 49 being positioned below the level of the roller 46 by an amount just sufficient to cause the strip 42 to clear the roll 49. The strips 43 and 44 may be guided into parallel relation by additional guide rollers 50 ad 51, the former located slightly above the level of the roller 46, and the latter slightly below the level of the roller 49.

In this modification, a U shaped boss 53 as illustrated is provided on each side of the casing for the reception of the ends of the shaft 54 of the composite roll. For the purpose of facilitat ng the insertion of the roll in this modification, the guide rollers 46 and 50 are shown as removable.

In the modification illustrated in Figure 3, the rollers 146, 147, 148, 149 and the guide rollers 150 and 151 are mounted in blocks 55 at each side of the machine, forming therewith a cage movable into and out of the machine to facilitate threading, and each of these blocks 55 carries a C shaped boss 56.

f A convenient manner of mounting the cage the roller 151.

In this manner, it will be swung from its normal position within the machine to a position above the machine where it is readily accessible.

In this form of the device, the roll maybe inserted as follows:

The margin frame being lifted from the casing and the end wall 18 being lowered, the cage is raised about its pivot to its upper position. Therjeupon the composite roll may be inserted between the rollers 147 and 148 and carried over the boss 56 and dropped into place. The shape of the boss. is such as to facilitate the dropping of the pivot of the roll in place when the'cage is in its upper position and to retain it in place when the cage has been lowered. While the cage is in this upper position, each strip may be carried over its proper rollers, and over the tablet, thereupon the dropping of the cage will complete the threading movement.

Figure 5 illustrates the feeding of strips from a composite roll in which certain of the strips are of thicker material than others.

The principle is the same as has been previously described in that each strip is taken ofi of the roll at such a point relative to its own spiral that the radii at the point of tangency movement into and out of the machine is to pivot it for movement about the center of of all the strips is the same. Due, however, to the diiference in thickness between the different strips, the point of take-off will not be equally spaced.

In Figure 5, there has been chosen for illustration, a roll composed of an original strip 57 and a quadruplicate strip 58 of heavy material and two intermediate strips 59 and 60 of tissue. 'With such sheets the points of take-off 61 and 62 of the tissue strips will be closer together, and the points of take-off 63 and 64 will be further spaced from each other than if the strips were all ofequal thickness.

By this invention it will be clear that a method has been devised by which any number of strips may be interwound into a composite roll, or unwound from such a roll, at the same 'rate and with uniform tension. Moreover, any strip may be: caused to feed faster or slower than the others in any prescribed degree within the limits of the overrun due to the thickness of the paper, by altering the position of the take-oft" roller. Thus, for example, if the axis of the roller 13 in Figure 1 be moved in a counterclockwise direction relative to the center of the roll 7, the strip 10 will mount upon its own spiral to a point of larger diameter and hence will feed more rapidly. So, also, if it be moved in the clockwise direction, the reverse will be true.

It will be clear also that the principle of operation is also applicable to the feeding of a plurality of strips on to a roll as well as to the delivering of strips from a composite roll.

By reason of the fact that the strip intended to enter the record compartment is carried over a small roller with a sharp bend in the direction reverse to that in which it has been rolled, a portion of its curl due to its having been rolled is removed. Furthermore, the arrangement is such that it naturally curls upwardly in the record compartment and hence is. carried more readilv to the far end of the compartment. r I v 'Since certain changes in carrying out the above process and in the constructions set forth, which embody the invention may be made without departing from its scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description'orshown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the followingclaims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween. Having described my invention, what I claim-as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A device of the character described adapted for use with a roll having a plurality of interwound strips, including, in combination, means for supporting the roll, and a plurality of guides corresponding in number to the numberof strips and disposed substantially concentrically aboutthe roll supporting means in position to guide the several strips from the roll to cause thesuccessive pairs of strips to make equal angles with each other.

2. The method for feedin a plurality of interwound strips from a rdll at a uniform rate, which comprises taking the strips from the roll at equally spaced intervals around its circumferenca- 3. The method of feeding a plurality of interwound strips from a roll, at a uniform rate, which comprises the roll at equally spaced intervals around its circumference along equally varying aths;

4. The method of feeding a plurality of interwound strips from a roll at a uniform rate, which comprises taking the strips from the roll at points of equal diameter upon the roll and conducting said strips along equally varying paths. a

5. The method of feeding a plurality of interwound strips from a roll at predetermined rates relative to each other, which comprises taking said-strips from the roll at points use with a roll havin a plurality of interw'ound strips, including, in combination,

taking the strips fromhaving diameters corresponding respectively to the said relative rates of feed.

6. A device of the character described for means for supporting said roll, means for guiding said strips from said roll adapted to take said strips from theroll filtPOlIltS of equal diameter, and conduct said strlps along equally varying paths into superposed relation.

7 A device of the character described for use with a roll having a plurality of interwound strips, including, in combination, means for supporting said roll, means for guiding said strips from said roll adapted to take said strips from said roll at points spaced around thecircumference corresponding to the thickness of the strips and to the relative rates of feed desired.

8. The method of feeding a plurality of interwound' strips from a roll at a uniform rate, which comprises taking the strips from the roll at intervals spaced around the circumference in such proportion as the thickness of the severalstrips bears to the combined thickness of all the strips.

- 9. A device of the character described for use with a roll having a plurality of interwound strips, including, in combination, means for supporting the roll and a plurality of guides spaced around said roll support adapted to guide strips from said roll support at angles to each other, each bearing such relation to the circumference as the thickness of the individual strips bears to the total thickness of all the strips.

In testimony whereof I afiix my si WILLIS B.

ature. ICE. 

